‘Jackpotting’ thieves get ATMs to spit out stacks of cash in WA and OR
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- ATM jackpotting attacks prosecuted in Walla Walla, Olympia, Seattle, Milton-Freewater.
- 2 defendants sentenced in conspiracy to install malware to force cash to be dispensed.
- The DOJ is pursuing about 90 more suspects tied to Tren de Aragua in jackpotting cases.
Two Venezuela nationals have been sentenced to federal prison for their part in a conspiracy that stole millions of dollars from ATMs, including in Washington state.
The U.S. Department of Justice says it is pursuing cases against about 90 more suspects in allegedly related “ATM jackpotting” cases it believes are tied to Tren de Aragua, a violent transnational criminal organization that originated as a prison gang in Venezuela in the mid 2000s.
The conspiracy targeted automated teller machines in Olympia and Seattle in 2024, and the next year the same criminal organization allegedly targeted ATMs in Walla Walla and Eastern Oregon’s Milton-Freewater, according to federal court documents.
Crews in the cases are accused of opening the ATMs, removing hard drives and installing malware that can force the ATMs to dispense large amounts of cash, according to court documents.
The malware interacts directly with the ATM hardware, bypassing any communications or security of the original ATM software, according to the FBI. The malware does not require connection to an actual bank customer’s account to dispense cash.
Those in the crews wore disguises and face masks, used unregistered vehicles purchased from Facebook ads and communicated using encrypted applications, according to federal prosecutors.
They scouted out vulnerable victim banks, often in smaller and rural communities, worked in the middle of the night and used self-deleting malware to hide their tracks, according to prosecutors.
Western WA ATM jackpotting
Carlos Javier Padron, 36, and Oddry Arnoldo Carera Torrealba, 37, also known as “Luis Alejandro Berdugo Barraza,” each were sentenced Thursday to six years and six months in prison after they were apprehended in Lincoln, Neb., in October 2024 during a jackpotting incident.
Both are undocumented and were ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution, including for thefts in Seattle and Olympia.
They each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank burglary and computer fraud and also intentional damage to a protected computer.
Padron and Torrealba were linked to the theft of $277,000 from Washington State Employees Credit Union ATMs at the Olympia Farmers Market and Evergreen State College in Olympia and nearly $400,000 from the credit union’s ATMs at the University of Washington Husky Union Building and the UW Medical Center in July 2024.
The credit union spent about $660,000 to remove all remaining cash from ATMs in the Seattle area, using armored transport and other security measures, according to a court document.
Other thefts listed in the plea agreement for the two men were in Wyoming, Kansas, New York, North Carolina and Nebraska from June 2024 to October 2024.
Torrealba unlocked the hoods and manipulated internal components of the ATMs, according to federal prosecutors. Padron drove a van used in one of the jackpotting attacks and federal prosecutors said in court documents he has ties to the conspiracy’s leadership.
He made large deposits over a year and a half from multiple states to his bank account and then used the Zelle digital payment network to pay co-conspirators and the conspiracy’s leadership from his bank account, according to the prosecution.
Eastern WA, Oregon ATM jackpotting
Walla Walla and Milton-Freewater, Ore., police are credited by the U.S. Department of Justice with helping investigate the case against Torrealba and Padron after money was stolen from two Baker Boyer Bank ATMs in Walla Walla and one in Milton-Freewater in April 2025.
Prosecution of those three jackpotting attacks is continuing.
Three defendants were indicted for a Walla Walla jackpotting attack at the bank at 1530 Plaza Way that obtained almost $93,500.
They also were indicted for a jackpotting attack the same date at the bank at 1931 East Isaacs Ave., obtaining about $60,600, according to court documents..
Within 24 hours before that they committed a jackpotting attack at the Baker Boyer Bank ATM in Milton-Freewater, obtaining almost $44,000, according to court documents.
The defendants in the three thefts are Juan Manuel Gouveia-Aguilera, Alfredo Pinto-Mendoza and Frayner Esmith Jiminez-Gomez.
The Department of Justice says that the Tren de Aragua criminal activities include drug and firearms trafficking, commercial sex trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, theft, fraud and extortion.